13 The one in disguise

"Stop! Here will do."

Bedona yelled into the younger girl's ear hoping to overcome the roaring waterfall nearby. But it seemed she shouldn't have worried, as Olean jerked her head away from Bedona and came to a sudden halt. The motion of it almost flung Bedona out of Olean's arms but Olean turned quick as a whip on her feet and slid on the ground, and the entire momentum Bedona's weight was pushed onto the girl's chest. And just like before, the girl held firm and Bedona doubted there was any place safer than the arms that clung her.

They were almost at the foot of the mountain. With the sky already lighting up, Bedona didn't wish to take any more of the girl's time. And she also needed some time alone to ponder. They had started their journey in the midnight from Roqsar and already were in the edge of Roqbim. Two days of journey they covered in half a night. No, Olean did in half a night.

Olean stood few feet away from her, her head turned in four directions. Her eyes burned sharp, bright green and they flickered with tiny embers. There was no indication in her body that said she had been through such a long trip in a matter of hours. She might as well have just woken up, ready and rested, with her slightly disheveled hair that was visible against the brighter sky. She ran her hands along her head flattening the top of her hair and tucking the few wild strands behind her ears. It was an unconscious movement, more out of habit than need. Bedona imagined she did that quite often.

"Thank you." Bedona waited for Olean's response but the girl didn't turn. "Do you need to rest?" She yelled again and this time she did turn and their eyes met, again and Bedona lost herself in them. She didn't hear anymore what the girl had replied; her voice drowning in the sound of roaring water but she could guess what it was. If anyone needed rest then it was her and not the girl, and although it was safe in her skinny arms, it was far from comfortable.

Olean bowed and murmured something what Bedona guessed was a goodbye. She too smiled in response, dipped her head and wished her farewell. For her it felt like just two people moving their mouths and pretending to talk. Olean turned around and disappeared into the trees in a blur in a much faster pace than before. It appeared Olean had been watching her speed for Bedona's safety regardless the added weight, and yet she still managed take her breath away. There were endless blur of trees and rocks that had run past them and Bedona only saw the scenery when there were particularly long but slower leaps, between cliffs and falls, that had her screaming the first few times. Later she did manage to get used to the dizziness enough that she didn't need to scream her lungs out, just only unwittingly choking the girl with her death grip of fear. She had felt her cheeks burn at that, never had she been so humiliated.

From the cliff she stood on, Bedona saw the sky reflect on Peolei, a light grey line behind dark trees, a short climb away from her spot. She desperately needed a wash, months in that ugly disguise had her feeling filthy. And she had nothing to show for any of her efforts. Her lips twitched at the realization but she pressed them still. Her eyes were suddenly blurry and she sniffed. How could she show him her face now?

No! She decided there must be a way. She was not going to just cede and requite a failure. That was not how she was going to honor her partner. She wiped the lone tear that managed to escape her eye with the back of her hand.

Bedona took the rocky trial, sliding and slithering down it. She concentrated on the stable rocks to dig her foot in the sturdy gaps as she carefully climbed down. 'No thinking until then.'